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Slime Self-Sealing Inner Tubes

Has anyone used these? How well do they work? Do they also keep you from having to add air to the tires?

I have not had a flat in 3 years of riding but my daughter-in-law did after riding in that event last weekend. I saw these self-sealing inner tubes and the concept sounds interesting. What do you think?

I run with slime in tubes. It's great for sealing holes and thorn punctures; you have to add air to a low tire and spin the wheel around so the hole can get sealed by the fibers in the slime.

Thing about slime too is it can show you where a problem area is by the green coloration.

Like today, was out airing the tires up before riding to church. Was tightening the valve cores as had noticed an accumulation of slime & road grime around the valve stems. This is telling me the valve stems are leaking in the cheap tubes that were installed.

When airing up the left wheel had noticed the valve stem needed to be pressed in a tad further to get a grip (floor pump). When moving the valve stem saw a small slurry of slime spurt out from inside the rim. So there's a problem.
Aired it up all tires to 5 bars (70 PSI). The left had 45 PSI instead of what should of been in the 60's. Rode to church and back, about 6 miles round trip, with a 2 hour break in the middle.
Tire was still near 5 bars when I got home - however I will be removing the tube. Figured I'd get 3 slime tubes from Wally's World and put them in next week as these valve stems had been steadily leaking this year.
These installed tubes should of lasted longer than a year. Not sure how good the Slime tubes are, yet.

In the recent past I would have to remove one of those valve stems to clear out the fibers so could air up the tire. Annoying, yes. However the slime as letting me know the valve stems are leaking. Will check for spoke issues too.

the usual tubes leak leak due to rubber thickness. my schwalbes leak 5 psi a week whereas the chaoyang tubes for the kenda flames [20x3] are quite a bit thicker and might leak about 3 psi per month.

not mentioned by polite people is that there are cans of bike-specific fix-a-flat [auto stuff ought to work as well] good enough to get you home out of the rain, hot sun, or pile of snow instead of wrestling the marathon plus tires on and off.

personally consider a tire with thick tread on the outside to be as good as thick tire on the inside, take a look at the maxxis maxxdaddy tread thickness and compare with the inner thickness of the schwalbe plus line of tires - one of those things missing in flat-proof discussions.

will be mounting slime tubes on one of the trikes near-future and see they compare to the chaoyangs in terms of pressure bleed-down.

I quit using slime because it clogged the valve core and caused slow leaks. It is really a mess to remove the fine fiber used in slime from a Schrader valve core. I replaced my Presta tubes after reaming the hole to fit the Schrader valves to simplify inflating the tires. I have had no flats since I started mounting Schwinn BMX tires with Kevlar belts. But I don't get off of paved bike paths much. I am on my second set of these tires. They handle snow well.

Walmart has a 2-Pack of Slime tubes for less than buying two singles. So bought two 2-Packs so can have one as a spare.

The way Slime works is it goes to weakest point, i.e. the leak. Whether it be glass cut, thorn, nail, spoke, or leaky valve stem. The fibers help plug up the leak and the coagulant stops the leak. However, there must be ample pressure inside the tire/tube to force the fiber & sealant out the leak.
Most say to air up the tire, flip the tire over horizontally, spin the wheel. Check for green slime and mark it for later. Recheck the tire pressure and ride on.

Valve stem cuts cannot be repaired.

The rear tire on mine has a laceration near the base, but it has not leaked. Still, that is an issue that the tube needed replaced asap. Have Slime tubes now.

Jamesr, I agree on the amount of tread. I added the 24x1.95 all terrain tires in the fall of 2015 and they show little tread wear and I have had no flats. I also think they give a very comfortable ride compared to the stock tires.

Just MY opinion I'd say first off is where do you live (geographically)? When i lived outside of Philly NEVER had a flat.

However, MANY places in the South West have the dreaded "goat head' thorn, there fore you WILL have flats! I used slime tubes and "Mr. Tuffy" liners in my mtn bike form '95 to '08, and yes still did have random flats. ALWAYS carried a spare tube, tire tools, pump,(and CO2 cartridges and fill device), and patch kit. In 2008 went tubeless on my mtn bikes till last year using tubeless ready rims and "Stan's Tubeless Rim Tape". Got my tike in May used Mr. Tuffy (no slime) and still got 3 flats and said the heck with it and went "Gehetto Tubelss" using the split tube method because the All Terrain rims have a "pinned" not welded rim joint and air would leak out thru the rim. I keep "Stan's Liquid' in the tires and ties pumped up and just ride damn the goatheads!!

There are many youtube videos on how to go cheap Ghetto tubless; using Gorrilla tape, split tube, duct taspe, etc. My wheels are 24" used 20 " tubes on my set-up.

I have found pre-slimed tubes to be a problem, especially with the valve stems AND with my pumps. My power pump has trouble reading accurate pressure through the crud of slime in the stem.

Much better to buy Schwalbe tubes. They come with metal stems (yes, even the Schrader stems) that are threaded and with little rings that you thread on down to the rim to keep it in place. Fairly thick rubber, too. Then if you feel you need to, carry a small can of slime in case of a puncture.

Bought Slime tubes and using Slime branded blue caps, and not nearly losing as much air as with the tubes that came with the trike. These tubes might lose 5 pounds in a month.
I still check the tubes before a ride but lately, even after a week+ they only lost a couple of pounds. Think these Slime tubes are definitely worth it. Also not had any nozzle clogging issues.

LBS had mixed their own version of slime/sealant which I think was thinner in viscosity. He probably did that cause of this area being prominent in goat-head thistles. Say, did you say you wanted some of them thorns?